


Keep You Warm

by bevinkathryn



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bottom Merlin, Established Relationship, M/M, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-05
Updated: 2015-02-05
Packaged: 2018-03-10 15:47:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3295955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bevinkathryn/pseuds/bevinkathryn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin is perpetually cold during the winters and takes to wearing socks all the time, even during sex.  Arthur doesn't mind, except he totally does.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Keep You Warm

**Author's Note:**

> A little bit of winter nonsense to help ease back into writing. Not beta'd. x

Even with the heat in Arthur’s flat turned up, Merlin was freezing.  Arthur could tell, because he kept trying to shove his icy hands under Arthur’s jumper where they were sat together watching television and looking petulant whenever Arthur batted him away.  This time of year, Merlin was perpetually piled under knitwear and beanies that covered his ears, tucking his hands into Arthur’s warmth whenever he could and moaning about frozen toes.  At night, he would steal all the blankets he could, and even then Arthur often woke up in the middle of the night, overwarm from the pile of blankets and from Merlin apparently trying to crawl underneath him.

Now, he was all but invisible under the throw his mum had knitted, save for the tips of his feet poking out from where his legs were flung over Arthur’s, safely wrapped in a thick pair of knobbly socks.  They were Arthur’s, too, a gift from a friend of a friend some years ago that Arthur had never worn but which had somehow survived, untouched at the back of Arthur’s wardrobe, until Merlin had unearthed them.  They suited him, Arthur thought, thick and cozy with their knitted patterns twirling around Merlin’s ever-cold feet.  He rubbed Merlin’s foot absently, only realizing what he was doing when Merlin jumped in surprise.

“Christ, Arthur, your hands are freezing.”

Arthur snorted, turning away from the television screen to raise his eyebrows at Merlin.  “Probably because _somebody_ decided to hog all of the blankets, as usual.”

"I’m not hogging _all_ of them, look,” Merlin protested, nodding at the part of the blanket draped over their legs.

“Oh, I stand corrected.  Thank you for your generosity, your highness,” Arthur said sarcastically.  Merlin kicked him again,  and Arthur retaliated by seizing Merlin around the ankle where his socks had slid to reveal a tiny sliver of skin.  He laughed when Merlin squealed, expertly dodging Merlin’s flailing limbs as he tickled Merlin’s ankle, then his shin.

“Fuck, get off me, you prat!” Merlin gasped, wiggling desperately, but Arthur just ducked under the blanket.  Merlin, guessing where he was doing, scrambled back, but Arthur was just a second faster, fingers slipping under the hem of Merlin’s jumper just as Merlin tried to clamp down on it.  Merlin squealed again, his breathy “Arthur!” halfway between a laugh and a groan.  He squirmed, but Arthur had him firmly trapped now, tucked securely between Arthur’s thighs and beneath his hands.  He could feel the beginnings of hardness at Merlin’s groin as he slowly slid further up Merlin’s body, making him smirk and press a quick kiss to where Merlin’s jumper had ridden up.

With one last playful tap against Merlin’s side, Arthur pulled himself the rest of the way up, emerging from the blanket to grin at Merlin’s unimpressed expression.  Merlin opened his mouth, but Arthur cut him off with a swift kiss, unsurprised when Merlin automatically returned it.  Now that Arthur’s hands were no longer teasing him, Merlin didn’t seem to mind his being there at all.  His own hands had come up to rest on Arthur’s sides, trailing up and around to keep them pressed together while they kissed.  Neither was fully hard yet, but Arthur could feel the arousal building between them with each touch.

“We’re gonna miss the film,” Merlin said after a moment, hand still fisted in Arthur’s jumper.  Arthur snorted.

“Not like we haven’t seen it already,” he pointed out, and was rewarded with another kiss.

Eventually, the credits began to scroll across the screen, but neither Merlin nor Arthur noticed.  Arthur was already down to just his jeans, and had managed to peel Merlin out of his jumper with his undershirt rucked up to give him access to Merlin’s chest, which he peppered with kisses while his fingers teased the trail of hair leading to his trousers.  Merlin was hard and straining against his zipper, so when Arthur pulled away, taking his touch and the warmth of the blankets with him, Merlin’s eyes popped open and he made a noise in protest.  Arthur ignored it in favor of undoing the zip on his own jeans, smirking when Merlin got the picture and scrambled to take off his own clothes.

After that it was a hazy blur of warm blankets and warmer skin, Merlin’s fingers clutching Arthur’s shoulder and hair as he worked his erection, teasing with kisses before sucking in earnest.  Arthur was dizzy with the heat trapped under the blanket and the pleased sounds Merlin was making.  His own erection was trapped against the sofa, the occasional friction as he ground his hips down not doing enough to alleviate the desire.

Merlin, on the other hand, was falling apart beneath him, his grip on Arthur’s shoulder growing tighter and the muscles in his stomach fluttering madly.  Arthur pulled back enough to lick teasingly at the head of his cock, and Merlin groaned, shifting to wrap his legs more securely around Arthur’s middle, feet planted on his lower back.  Except, it wasn’t skin pressing against Arthur, but wool, and Arthur realized that Merlin was still wearing the stupid socks.

The thought distracted Arthur.  Merlin nudged him pointedly, protesting the sudden stop with a breathless, “Don’t stop, you prat, fuck--” but the feeling of Merlin’s socked feet against him was suddenly all Arthur could think about.  Or rather, the image of Merlin wearing nothing but them while they were in this situation was all he could think about, the usually hot sight of Merlin’s long, naked body flushed beneath his ruined by the sight of those damned, ridiculous socks.  It was decidedly, stupidly _un_ -sexy.

“Arthur,” Merlin complained, pressing his feet against Arthur’s back, and that snapped Arthur back into action.

He leaned down again, one hand guiding Merlin’s straining cock back into his mouth and the other pressing into Merlin’s thigh, pushing until Merlin’s foot fell from his back as his legs spread further apart, granting Arthur both better access to his cock and freedom from the thoughts of those socks.  Blissfully unaware, Merlin moaned in appreciation as Arthur redoubled his efforts in a sort of apology for pausing.

In a matter of moments, Merlin’s back arched and he came, fingers tangled in Arthur’s hair untwisting to draw him up by the chin, out from under the blanket and into a messy kiss, and all thoughts of socks were banished from Arthur’s mind as Merlin’s hand wrapped around his cock.

\---

Arthur would have been quite content to never think about the sock incident again, except it kept happening.  It was driving him mad, and the worst part was Merlin didn’t seem to notice.  He was perfectly unselfconscious every time he pushed Arthur down into bed, stripped bare save for those damned _socks_ , kissing and touching and doing a damned good job of distracting Arthur from ripping the wool right off his feet.  Arthur wasn’t even sure why they bothered him so much, really, just that they did.  It made everything feel...different.  Like Merlin didn’t even care enough to take off his bloody socks, or like they were an old couple, just going through the motions.

It was amazing how much damage a pair of socks could do to a man’s sex life, Arthur was learning.

So that was how Arthur came to find himself here, lying in bed next to Merlin, pressed together from lips to groin and enjoying the first, exploratory touches of the day.  They undressed each other with lazy, indulgent touches, breaking their kisses only when absolutely necessary.  Arthur ran his hand down the line of Merlin’s spine and down over his arse, revelling in the feeling of all that sleep-warm skin, smiling into the satisfied hums his touch drew from Merlin.

Things were just starting to heat up when Arthur felt it--a socked foot sliding teasingly up his leg, making Arthur gasp and jerk away.  Merlin chuckled and leaned in again, but Arthur had finally had enough.

“No, I’m sorry, I--I can’t,” he said, turning his head when Merlin tried to kiss him.  Merlin blinked in surprise, but Arthur was too busy being mortified to pay it much attention.

“Arthur?  What’s wrong?” Merlin asked, putting a tentative hand out as if to touch Arthur, but stopping before he made contact.  “Did I do something?”

“No, it’s…” Arthur exhaled, forcing himself to look at Merlin.  “I just.  I can’t have sex with you when you’re wearing those socks.”

Merlin’s eyebrows rose as his expression went from concerned to surprised at Arthur’s outburst.  “Socks?”

“Yes!” Arthur groaned, pushing himself into a seated position.  “I tried to get over it, I really did, but I’m sorry, I just can’t do it.  They look _ridiculous_.  It feels like I’m...like I’m making love to an old person, or--”

He trailed off then, staring down at where Merlin had suddenly buried his face in the pillow.  Arthur realized with sudden horror that his shoulders were shaking slightly, and oh hell Arthur had _made him cry_ with his stupid sock thing.  Arthur was terrible with tears.  He was officially the world’s worst boyfriend.

Tentatively, he reached down and touched Merlin’s shoulder.  “Merlin?  I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it.  The socks are fine, really--”

An odd, choking sound came from the pillows, and Arthur narrowed his eyes.

“Are you laughing?”

Merlin raised his head, just enough to see that it was in fact laughter rather than tears, before he burst out in giggles again at the sight of Arthur’s indignant expression.

“It’s not that funny!”

“No, it really is,” Merlin said, pushing himself up to sit next to Arthur, still giggling faintly.  “Come here, you moron.”

Arthur crossed his arms, glaring rather than close the short distance between them.  Predictably, Merlin just rolled his eyes and did it for him, swinging his legs around and arranging them so that he straddled Arthur, their bare chests facing each other.  Arthur automatically reached out to steady him, but made sure to scowl so Merlin knew he wasn’t amused.

Ignoring that, Merlin took Arthur’s face in his hands, lifting his chin so that they were eye-to-eye.

“You are the world’s biggest prat,” he declared.  Arthur huffed.  “Why didn’t you say anything sooner?”

“Never had the chance,” Arthur replied, shrugging.  “It was stupid, anyway, I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“It is a little stupid, but I’m glad you told me,” Merlin said, cutting off whatever Arthur might have said with a tiny kiss.  “Wouldn’t want you feeling like you were _making love_ with a grandfather.”

Arthur snorted at that, his embarrassment melting away with each of Merlin’s kisses.  His cock, which had completely lost interest in the midst of his confession, began to stir again, helped along by the tiny movements Merlin was making in his lap.  They stayed there for a moment, letting the moment ease back into more familiar territory.  Before long, their kisses deepened, and Arthur’s steadying grip on Merlin migrated to his back in order to encourage the movement of his hips.  He sighed at the not-enough friction as their erections brushed, and was just about to move them into a more horizontal position when Merlin shifted suddenly, doing an odd sort of wriggle that nearly made Arthur drop him.

“What--”

Arthur’s question was cut short by Merlin’s triumphant smile as he held up his prize--the woolen socks, mercifully balled up and no longer anywhere near Merlin’s feet.  Arthur laughed and kissed him as Merlin threw them, pulling him back into the pillows as they landed somewhere on the floor.  He made a show of running a hand over Merlin’s ankle, giving an exaggerated groan when his fingers met nothing but skin and hair where wool had once been.

Merlin laughed, murmuring, “Get on with it, you prat,” as he hit him playfully in the shoulder, and Arthur was only too happy to oblige.

Freed from the fear of socked feet, Arthur let himself explore the familiar lines of Merlin’s body, running his hands up and down his legs as his mouth traced invisible patterns along his neck.  Merlin returned the favor as much as he could, gripping the back of Arthur’s head and neck and slowly grinding his hips against his, breath growing shaky in Arthur’s ear.  Arthur contemplated rolling over towards their nightstand, but he wasn’t quite ready to give up the feeling of Merlin against him yet, so he reached between them instead to wrap his fingers around Merlin’s erection.  He was rewarded with a hitched breath, then a tiny moan when he began to stroke it, lips on Merlin’s neck as he pumped his fist over his erection, wasting no time in teasing.

When Merlin’s hips began to move in time with his movements, Arthur paused for the briefest of moment to lick his palm, adding to the slide provided by the precome beading the head of Merlin’s cock.  The pace he set then was relentless, suddenly wanting nothing more than to see Merlin fall apart.  He raised his head, drinking in the sight of Merlin’s flushed face and bitten lips.  He couldn’t resist leaning down to press a kiss there even as Merlin arched with pleasure, digging his fingers into Arthur’s sides as he came all over Arthur’s hand and his own stomach, panting.  Arthur stroked him through it, stopping only when Merlin’s entire body relaxed and his lips settled into a tiny, satisfied smile.

They kissed again, surprisingly chastely considering the mess on Merlin’s belly and Arthur’s still-present erection, before Arthur pulled back and murmured, “You good?”

“Mm, yeah,” Merlin sighed, stretching his arms above his head, eyes closed.  Arthur wasted no time in collecting the lube from the nightstand and returning to his position between Merlin’s legs.

Smiling sleepily, Merlin let them fall even further apart as Arthur warmed up the lube.  His orgasm has returned some of the sleep-lazy relaxation from before into his limbs, but Arthur took his time opening him anyway.  He smirked against Merlin’s inner thigh when he felt a foot brush against his shin, glancing up in time to catch Merlin’s cheeky grin.  With his free hand, Arthur reached back and tweaked a toe, making Merlin laugh.

“Come here, you dollophead,” Merlin said when Arthur had finally deemed him open enough, opening his arms.  And Arthur went, letting Merlin hold them together as he guided his cock in.  They settled together, Merlin exhaling through the stretch and Arthur waiting patiently until he nodded before giving the first, full thrust.

Merlin seemed content to let Arthur take the lead, so he set an easy pace, returning to his spot at Merlin’s neck as he pushed in and out of Merlin’s body.  His hands wandered down to press behind Merlin’s knees, lifting and pushing until he was braced on either side by Merlin’s legs, bare feet pressed against his back.  Merlin huffed an amused laugh, obligingly squeezing him closer as Arthur fucked him.  Before long, Arthur felt his orgasm building up, and he sped up his hips, slamming into Merlin with a satisfying thrust and earning himself a low hum.  Merlin’s hands had long since settled on his sides, but they began to drift, playing with the hair on his chest before moving on to knot in his hair, dragging Arthur in for a hot, wet kiss.

When he came, it was with Merlin’s lips on his and his legs keeping Arthur close.

They stayed there for a moment, just breathing together, before they separated enough to re-settle against the pillows.  Merlin curled up against Arthur’s chest, kissing his neck drowsily as they settled in.  Arthur pulled the duvet over them, and Merlin tucked his cold toes against Arthur’s shin.  He grinned at Arthur’s huff, but didn’t move them, and Arthur didn’t try to shake him off, content to keep Merlin warm himself as he held him close.


End file.
